Carmelo Anthony could make his first start of the young season on Friday against the L.A. Clippers after the recent injuries to reigning MVP James Harden and James Ennis could put the Houston Rockets in need for extra firepower.
Head coach Mike D’Antoni hinted at the potential nod due to the recent personnel sidelined, according to ESPN’s Stefano Fusaro.
Anthony took a bench role for the first time in his career after starting 1054 consecutive games during his 15 years in the league.
This could put Melo in line to play in his natural position at small forward, as well as get plenty of looks from Chris Paul, who will return to the floor for the runback against the Clippers after missing the initial road tilt due to his two-game suspension for his role in the brawl with the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.
Paul will be tasked with quarterbacking the offense and chipping in as one of the main scorers with Harden likely missing time due to a hamstring strain, listed as “very doubtful” for Friday’s game.
Anthony had his best outing as a Rocket on Wednesday night’s 102-89 loss to the Utah Jazz, scoring 22 points in 39 minutes of action after playing less than 30 minutes in each of his three previous games.
The Rockets are 1-3 in the young season and 0-2 without Paul, looking to change that soon before falling off too deep in a ruthless Western Conference that has only gotten more competitive over the summer.
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